William & Alice: Fearless Females - 4

St. Chad's Church - a photograph taken by the son of William & Alice - Harry Rawcliffe Danson,

The marriage certificate of my maternal grandparents was among the family papers that I inherited. It recorded the wedding  on 11th April 1907 at St. Chad's Church, Poulton-le-Fylde,  Lancashire of William Danson, a 22 year old labourer 22 (father James, a joiner, deceased) and Alice English, a 22 year old spinster (father Henry, a painter,  deceased), both of Poulton-le-Fylde.  The witnesses were John and Annie Letham - names unknown to me.  





The Danson family are at the core of my family history research and I have traced them back to 1736.  Alice however represents the proverbial brick wall in my research, as despite intensive efforts, including a professional researcher,  I have found nothing about her life before marriage.  She died when I was a baby;  my mother and aunt were surprisingly reticent about her and I did not ask the right questions at the time. I know that she came to Poulton as nursemaid to the Potts family, prominent Methodists in the town and I have her prayer book presented on her confirmation in 1904 in Poulton. I was also told we shared the same birthday - 23rd September. The  1911 census return confirmed her birthplace as Bolton, Lancashire, but I have been unable to trace a birth certificate or entries in earlier censuses.

 This is one of the few photographs of Alice, with copies held by different members of the family.  As she is wearing a corsage, could this have been taken on her wedding day?  Again a question I should have asked my mother.

Among the family papers was this receipt  paid by Alice on February 26th 1907 for:

 Two yards of bodice lining, hooks, silk sundries and bodice making.

Was this her wedding outfit?  It surely must have had sentimental value for it to be kept? 

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 In honour of National Women's History Month in the USA , Lisa Alzo of The Accidental Genealogist  blog presents Fearless Females: 31 Blogging Prompts for March.

March 4 — Do you have marriage records for your grandparents?   Write a post about where they married and when.